Tuesday's primary election in Portage County was marked by one of the lowest turnouts in recent years. About 10 percent of the eligible voters made it to the polls, most likely because there was only one contested race on the ballot -- in Ravenna's Ward 1 -- as well as a handful of tax issues.
The low turnout may have helped in the passage of income tax issues in Ravenna, where voters approved a measure that will continue the levy benefiting the city's water system, and in Streetsboro, where the recent controversy surrounding ousted Mayor Tom Wagner didn't deter the electorate from doubling the municipal income tax rate.
Voters in Brimfield, Windham, Edinburg and Mantua-Shalersville also approved levies for fire and EMS service and Aurora voters agreed to renew a levy for their city's school system.
In fact, every issue Tuesday's ballot was approved -- except for one: the Portage County Health District levy.
In some respects, that's probably not surprising, given that the measure marked the 31st time that the health district has appealed to voters for additional funds and lost. It's been 55 years since a new funding request was approved.
Still, we're baffled why voters continue to dig in their heels and refuse to approve even the most modest of funding requests for public health. At this point, the only reason we can come up with is that they're cheapskates.
Issue 1 was a 0.4-mill funding request that would have cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $12.60 more in property taxes. That comes to about an additional dollar a month, or three cents a day. It's hard to believe that any homeowner, no matter their financial circumstances, couldn't afford that.
We're doubly baffled that voters would turn their backs on public health on the same day that Portage County confirmed the diagnosis of swine flu in one of its residents. Who do the voters expect will be among the front-line responders if, God forbid, the county ever confronts an outbreak of swine flu or another serious illness?
The electorate Tuesday had no problem approving income tax increases or the funding needed for other, important front-line responders -- fire and EMS units. Why did they draw the line at providing the Portage County Health Department with a modest boost in funding for vital services?
Sorry, Portage County voters but, when it comes to piblic health, you're cheap.